Eclipse Aviation, the maker of the Eclipse 500 very light jet, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. The company is seeking to sell the bulk of its assets to ETIRC Aviation, which is the largest investor in Eclipse.

Leading up to the bankruptcy filing, Eclipse endured several rocky months, including the departure of the founding CEO this summer, an FAA and Congressional investigation over the certification of its jets and, most recently, failure to meet employee payroll earlier this month.

Eclipse’s stumbles had some aviation watchers predicting that the company would stop making the Eclipse 500 in the first quarter of 2009. In the wake of this filing, the company has arranged interim financing that must approved by the bankruptcy court to allow the company to continue operating through the sale of its assets.